Why the House of Bishops fired the Chairman of Nominations at Namirembe?

By Rev. Abbey M. Kamoga

US President John F Kennedy may now be forgiven when in his 1961 inaugural address at the US Capitol said, those who foolishly sought power by riding the back of the tiger, always   ended up inside the tiger. 

These words were particularly apt on Wednesday, October 4, 2023 at 4 pm, when in their historic vote, The House of Bishops ousted Bishop Luwalira’s man, City Lawyer Frederick Mpanga and two of his cronies Mrs. Robinah Kizito, the Headmistress of Gayaza High School  and Geofrey Kulubya, Former Editor, Bukedde Newspaper from the committee, in what clearly sent shockwaves rippling across the entire Church.

These three who came riding on the back of Bishop Luwalira to the nomination committee, must have sealed their fate; right from the very beginning.

As Bishop Appointees, they brought with them a baggage of full of conflict of interest to the committee, and because they were preoccupied with satisfying the Bishop’s interests on the team, they failed to act in the best interest of the Church.

Eventually, there was disharmony amongst team members as Bishop Appointees were deemed to be more important than others. This created sharp divisions among members and individual opinions were never taken seriously. This resulted in total dysfunction at meetings.  

For instance, Chairman only called meetings whenever he received a call from the Bishop. Thus, when the Bishop was in Israel, all meetings were on halt.  There were also no meetings when all or one of the Chairman’s friends was unavailable. This explains why when Mrs. Robinah Kizito travelled to South Africa in September, all nomination meetings were on hold.

Lawyer Mpanga also failed to leverage on his administrative skills as Head of Laity, St. Paul’s Cathedral, Namirembe to support teamwork and team development on the committee. The man who portrayed himself as a figure of change also failed to build consensus among members as long as he earned a quick nod from his two close friends. 

Eventually, communication stopped and suspicions rose among members. Battle lines were drawn while the rest kept quiet in the face of horrendously bad decisions. 

This explains why Canon Moses Banja believed to be serial looser at most Diocesan nominations like Luwero and Mukono but a close friend of Bishop Luwalira was resisted when his name found his way on the nomination list. The Chairman howeve, defiantly went ahead to include his name on the nomination list. 

There was also an allegation that Counsel Mpanga with his two cronies conspired to smuggle Rev. Abraham Muyinda, Vicar of St. Paul’s Cathedral Namirembe onto the nomination list without going through any vetting process, despite his application coming even after the deadline for receiving applications was over. 

Such an allegation, even after months of watching the committee flagrantly flout norms was nothing short of jaw-dropping and could have costed the Chairman his job. 

Lawyer Mpanga also seemed to fail at the interpretation and understanding of  Church laws on the Nomination of Candidates as clearly prescribed in both the Provincial Church of Uganda Constitution and Church Canon laws, in what clearly surprised many on the committee.  

For instance, there is so much confusion on the academic qualifications of a candidate for the see of Bishop and in some cases there is a contradiction between Church of Uganda Constitution and the Provincial Canons.

For instance, qualifications for an intending Bishop candidate according to the Church Canons require  one to hold a Bachelor’s Degree in either Theology or Divinity (Can. 3.7.22 (c); Yet the Provincial Constitution, only requires Bachelor’s degree in Theology (Article 13: VI) and no other. 

Priests have a Degree, where one has Bachelor’s degree is in any secular field, the Church Canons require one to have a Post Graduate Diploma in either Theology or Divinity (Can. 3.7.22 (c)) Yet the Provincial Constitution stipulates that any secular degree must go with an additional Diploma in Theology or Divinity (Article 13: VI) for one to qualify for the ‘pecan pie’. 

Yet such confusion on additional, post Graduate etc. could have been overcome through engaging members in capacity building, networking and partnership with other nomination committees and where possible invite speakers from the provincial office to leverage on the experience and specialty on the exercise. 

While it is not clear if Chancellor Frederick Mpanga and his team are simply beleaguered victims of partisan politics-one thing for sure; their sacking is indicative of a Church, long attuned to legal fights and has little appetite for another electrifying legal storm from Namirembe.

For now, however, this may well be a fitting representation of a man who, albeit momentarily, is stripped of his bluster and bravado, facing the consequences of his actions – actions that have left a stain on the fabric of our Church.

AUTHOR

Rev. Abbey M. Kamoga

CHAPLAIN, KADIC HOSPITALS 

0775325210 / 0704024009